South Africa: In honour of the globally renowned poet, writer and publisher James Matthews, an event was organised for the second edition of the Van Toeka AF Living Legends Recognition Series (VTALLRS) in South Africa.
The Van Toeka AF Living Legends Recognition Series is an initiative of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, which recognises living legends in the arts and culture sector.
It is also designed to be a knowledge-sharing platform that offers guidance whilst motivating future generations. Minister Mthethwa has identified.
Matthews is a living legend worthy of this honour.
Matthews was fiercely committed to political and social justice through his extensive body of work and only armed with a pen.
Against all odds, Matthews established the first black-owned art gallery in Cape Town (Gallery Afrique) and set up his own publishing house, BLAC, an acronym for Black Literature, Culture and Society, in 1974.
The publishing house closed in 1991 due to constant harassment by the previous government.
Despite most of his work being banned in South Africa under the apartheid regime, Matthews gained international recognition. He is the recipient of the Woza Afrika Award (1978), Kwaza Honours List – Black Arts Celebration, Chicago, U.S.A. (1979) and the Freeman of Lehrte and Nienburg, Germany (1982).
In 2004, James Matthews was awarded the National Orders of the Ikhamanga in Silver for his excellent literary achievements, his contribution to journalism and his inspirational commitment to the struggle for a non-racial South Africa.
